- 1). Mark your ceiling with the permanent marker. See your bath fan box for dimensions. Use a stud finder to make sure your installation is between the studs. Measure out where you want to place the fan unit.
- 2). Put on eye protection and gloves. Lay down some dropcloths. Cut out your hole in the ceiling, using your drywall hole saw. This kind of installation is designed for homes with attic access.
- 3). Install the box-only portion of your bath fan up through the hole you cut out. The motor plate and cover will be installed later. Secure the box to one of your ceiling joists, using drywall screws and the cordless drill gun.
- 4). Find the wall where you will mount your switch. Drill a small hole near that wall and the ceiling. Insert a stiff wire and feed it up to the attic. This will help you locate your bath wall, once you are in the attic and need to drill your hole down. This hole will be for your Romex run down to the new switch.
- 5). Turn off the main breaker at the panel box. Go into your attic and find an electrical junction box that you can use to tap into for a power source. Run 14-gauge Romex from this junction box to your bath fan box. Check local codes or with a contractor for wiring code specifics.
- 6). Attach a Romex connector to both your bath fan box and your attic junction box. Use a hole punch to remove the hole plates at each connection point. Connect your wires up by matching the colors. Use wire nuts if needed. Staple down your Romex run to the ceiling joists every 3 feet or so.
- 7). Find the stiff wire feed you pushed into the attic from below. Next to it should be your bath wall. Use the 1-inch hole saw and drill a hole down through the studs. Run your electrical fish tape down through this hole. The fish tape is used to pull electrical wire from one point to another.
- 8). Go back to the bathroom. Choose the wall location where you will place your fan switch. Use the stud finder to find the nearest stud. Cut out a hole for the switch box. Use the drywall hole saw and permanent marker if you want to mark the outline first. Find your fish tape wire and pull it out of the hole. Connect the 14-gauge Romex to the fish tape by attaching it with electrical tape. If you can get a helper to go into the attic, this is easier with two people.
- 9). Pull the fish tape from the bathroom box cutout to the attic. Leave enough Romex wire to reach the other side of your junction box, where you tapped into for power. Disconnect the Romex from the fish tape and hook the Romex up to your junction box. Follow the same wire connecting procedure as for your fan. Staple all Romex down to the studs.
- 10
Pull your Romex wire through the back of the remodel box. Secure the screws of the remodel box to the wall, so the wing anchors will open up behind the wall. Hook up your Romex wires to the switch: white wire to the silver screw and the black wire to the gold screw. Install switch and cover. Turn on the main power and make sure everything works.
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